On Saturday 19/09 we visited Padstow, bathed in glorious sunshine and the sound of typically vocal Herring Gulls. Wandering about the harbour, there were quite a few foraging Turnstones snapping up the smallest of scraps! A Kingfisher zipped past the quay while a walk along the Camel Estuary after lunch, I managed to see 2-3 adult Med Gulls and at least 10 Sandwich Terns (with several fairly advanced begging juveniles), as well as the odd Shag & Cormorant.
We spent the following day in St. Ives where on the bird front, I saw pretty similar fare to Padstow, with the addition of a Wheatear, as well as a group of distant dolphin sp.
Monday was a super early start, before driving to Penzance in torrential rain to get the Scillonian over to the Scillies. As we set off, the rain cleared and we were in fact bathed in sunshine all the way over. Undoubted highlights were nice views of a couple of Sooty Shearwater and a Balearic Shearwater, both well overdue lifers for me! Other birds seen included fantastic views of an Arctic Skua, several Manxies, a Kittiwake and scores of Gannets.
We arrived on St. Mary's and after an awesome lunch overlooking the harbour, we began exploring, doing a circuit of the Garrison. The weather was stunning and there were lots of butterflies on the wing including tonnes of Speckled Wood, as well as several Holly Blue. Lots of Swallows were also zipping around everywhere and we saw several Black Rabbits which looked more than a bit weird!
Staying in the centre of the island meant a bit of walk from Hugh Town but did mean it was a pretty good central base to explore. Later on, before we went out for dinner, I took a walk down through Holyvale to Porth Hellick Pool to have a look at the Pectoral Sandpipers that had been present there recently, always a nice bird to see. Was a nice walk along the leafy Scilly lanes. I managed to find a Willow Warbler and continued to hear the constant chattering of migrant Swallows overhead. Porth Hellick Pool looked great, especially in the golden early evening light. From the two hides, the 3 Pectoral Sandpipers showed extremely well right in front, reminding me of the 3 at Pitsford Res several years ago. There were also several Greenshank, a Ringed Plover and a Whinchat on my walk back to the hotel.
The next morning I had another quick look before breakfast. The Pecs were again ridiculously close and there were more Greenshank and several Snipe present.
After breakfast, we walked down to Hugh Town to get the boat over to nearby Tresco. On the way down I found a Pied Flycatcher and also saw an unfortunate Wheatear wandering around Hugh Town High Street with an apparent broken wing.
Tresco was different from St. Mary's but just as stunning, particularly the several white, sandy beaches and the Abbey Gardens which we had a good wander around.
The gardens held a nice little population of Red squirrels, several of which showed fantastically well; always a treat!
The rest of our time on the island was spent around the Great Pool and the southern end, slowly making our way to the jetty where would catch our boat back to St. Mary's. In between gorging on the tonnes of blackberries on offer, birds seen included a Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Whinchat, several Stonechat, 2 Wheatear, a few Greenshank and a few Little Egret.
Small Copper butterflies were also in good supply, together with loads more Speckled Wood.
The next day was sadly our final day on the Scillies. Before breakfast, a scan from the hotel garden was productive with a Lesser Whitethroat and a Whinchat in a nearby hedge. We then set off to explore more of the southern end of the island, walking to Peninnis Head and past the airfield and back towards Hugh Town before getting our ferry back to the mainland. Popping into Porth Hellick Pool one more time, the 3 Pecs were still close, together with the usual Greenshanks & Snipe.
On what was a pretty cloudy day, our walk from here all the way to Peninnis Head produced 3 more Whinchat, several Wheatear, Stonechats, large numbers of Song Thrush (migrants?) and best of all, a distant juvenile Dotterel trotting around the grass by the airfield runway (too distant for any decent photos).
We got our ferry back to the mainland late afternoon. Highlights included a group of 2-3 Harbour Porpoise, a pod of Common Dolphin, a brief small Petrel sp. (presumed Storm), at least 4 Balearic Shearwater, 2 Manx Shearwater, 2 Arctic Skua, 2 Fulmar and 100s of Gannets!
My last little bit of birding of the trip was firstly a wander around Dawlish Warren (Devon) late afternoon on Friday (25/09). Saw very little to be honest other than a Grey Plover, 6 Brent Geese, a couple of Gannet and plenty of Oystercatchers. The next day I spent a bit of time at Bowling Green Marsh near Exeter on the way home. BGM is one of my most familiar and favourite sites, visiting there frequently as a keen young lad back in the day when my Gran used to live around the corner from there. Saturday (26/09) was a bright, sunny day making visibility difficult due to the glaring sun and heat haze. Amongst the commoner stuff, birds included a singing Cetti's Warbler, several Pintail, c.40 Black Tailed Godwit, a Common Sandpiper, a Raven & a few Chiffchaff.
So there was the end of a wonderful trip! A couple of lifers but sadly no oober-rares. Typically on leaving the Scillies the islands filled with some awesome rares including Blackpoll Warbler & Grey-Cheeked Thrush, but hey-ho, you can't win them all! Certainly will be heading back to the Scillies though, such an awesome place, with great opportunities to find your own birds.
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